A parking system includes a parking lot having a plurality of parking spaces for parking motor vehicles; in the parking system, a motor vehicle can be controlled in an autonomous manner along a route between a hand-over point and one of the parking spaces in the parking lot. Such a process is known as automated valet parking (AVP). If a motor vehicle is to be parked in the parking lot, then it is sufficient if the driver brings the motor vehicle to the hand-over point and leaves it there. The motor vehicle then drives in a highly automated or fully automated manner to one of the parking spaces assigned to it by a management system, for instance. If the motor vehicle is to be picked up again, then it may be controlled in the reverse direction from the parking space to the hand-over point, where the driver gets in and controls the motor vehicle on his own in the known manner outside the parking lot.
In different stages of refinement, the control of the motor vehicle may take place in different ways. In a first variant, the motor vehicle is guided by a parking-lot-side processing system. All tasks required for this purpose, in particular a position determination of the motor vehicle, scanning the surrounding area of the motor vehicle for obstacles, route planning and a response to environmental influences, are performed by a processing system that is installed in the parking lot. This processing system is implemented as an active infrastructure.
In a second variant, tasks such as a situation interpretation, route planning and other decisions are carried out by the motor vehicle. The motor vehicle adopts data from the infrastructure of the parking lot, such as a position map and a target position to be navigated to, and controls its driving in the parking lot on its own. In the event that the infrastructure identifies problems, it transmits these problems and possibly additional suggestions for action to the motor vehicle. For instance, it may be suggested to stop the motor vehicle because a person not yet visible from the direction of the motor vehicle is crossing the scheduled route of the motor vehicle. In case of a critical problem, the infrastructure is also able to intervene in the driving process, for instance by triggering an emergency braking operation. In this variant, the parking-lot-side processing system is embodied as a cooperative infrastructure.
In a third variant, the control of the motor vehicle is carried out completely by the motor vehicle itself. The motor vehicle may adopt required data such as a map of the parking lot or a target position to be heading for from the infrastructure. The navigation of the motor vehicle then essentially takes place as described above with reference to the second variant. No further control or support on the part of the infrastructure is provided in this context. In this variant, the parking-lot-side processing system is set up as a passive infrastructure.
In each one of these variants, the surrounding area of the motor vehicle must be scanned by the motor vehicle as well, at least in a supplementary manner. To do so, the motor vehicle is usually equipped with one or more sensor(s). Such sensors are normally designed for only one special purpose, such as a lateral ultrasonic sensor for parking. However, such specialized sensors are disadvantageous for some driving maneuvers that are executed within the scope of automated valet parking. A usual resort consists of installing multiple specialized sensors in the vehicle. However, such a procedure is complex and may increase the manufacturing costs of the motor vehicle.